Kickstarter Weekly 5 – September 16th

In our sixth week we have found 5 more projects that will hopefully wow and amaze you.

The first project that we are looking at is geared towards helping online businesses display their products. The project called Zcapture has three different parts; the first one is the software which is photo editing software suite similar to Adobe Photoshop except that it was created so that businesses can produce a 360 degree photo of a product so that you can look at it online. The next part is the hardware which consists of rotating platform that is connected to your compatible SLR camera. The platform is connected to your external shutter control on your camera and works completely on its own with no need for a computer. The reason for this is an Arduino circuit board which runs the device and allows you to tinker with the code and functions. To keep the internal parts cool it also features active cooling. The third part of the Zcapture system is the web player which allows the user to interact which the photo just like in a store without physically touching it. To receive just the software suite you need to pledge $100 US Dollars.Then there are two different sized rotating platforms you can receive as rewards for the mini Zcapture rotating platform you need to pledge $150 US Dollars and the regular sized platform with everything included you need to pledge $480 US Dollars.

The next project that looked very interesting to us is called the Flowton and this device wants to control your whole house through gestures and voice commands. To do this Flowton uses something called a Natural Interface (NI) Controller. The NI controller makes it so that your voice or your hands become the controller and allow you to make commands with certain gestures. In order for the Flowton to recognize these gestures and voice commands it contains two microphones and one RGB camera. The only limitation is that camera?s depth sensor is not great so they advise you to get a camera like the Kinect which has a better depth sensor. In order for the Flowton controller to know which gestures control certain devices the Flowton comes with a graphic user interface (GUI). To communicate with all of the devices the Flowton has several different pieces of hardware such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and infrared. To receive this amazing piece of hardware you need to pledge $219 US Dollars for the early bird and then $229 US Dollars after that.

The third project that we are looking at this week is called the Cross Plane and what the project is looking to do is make it so people can game using their consoles and computer without being confined to a desk or television. The way this would work is by using the HDMI port on your console or computer and transmitting it to a handheld device. This hand held device would have a 7 inch screen with a resolution of 1280×800 (720p). It also has a two speakers and a headphone jack for audio and a battery life of about four hours. The device can also change button layouts for each different console or computer. The way this problem was overcome is through creating different controller packs that would just slip out of the case which makes it so that you do not need different devices for each console. To receive this device and one controller pack you need to pledge $349 US Dollars and to receive two controller packs you need to pledge $410 US Dollars.

Another project that looked very interesting is a device called ReRace. What the ReRace device does is it plugs into your car and collects many different types of data. The different types of data that it collects are similar to data collected in Formula 1 racing cars. Some of the different types of data that ReRace can collect without wiring are GPS data through a 10Hz GPS, and with the built-in IMU it can also collect G-force over three axis, roll of the car or lean angle of a bike, pitch and yaw angle. It can also synchronize the data with video when you plug in a GoPro camera. With the proper wiring, the ReRace device can also download all the information the ECU of your car collects via the OBD port. With all of the data collected you can join the website community to share and compare your data to see how you stack up. To share your data you have to use the SD card slot on the device and then transfer them to your computer and upload them to the website and it will show you all the data. To receive the awesome device you will need to pledge £429 British Pounds or $679 US Dollars at today?s conversion rate.

Our last project that we are looking at for this week is a revolutionary new tire. The new type of tire is called the Shweel which stands for Shock-Spoke-Wheel. It actually sounds like something that would come out of Dude Where?s My Car. The reason for this name is that the air shocks are the spokes for the wheel. There are many reasons for making the spokes air shocks. Some of the reasons include making the car more efficient by reducing rolling resistance. Another reason is that the tire does not have any air in it because it is filled with weight saving foam. It also reduces the need to replace tires because shocks reduce the wear on the tires. On the performance side it allows you to reach higher speeds faster and allows you to have a faster cornering speed. Another benefit of this tire is that it cannot go flat and make your vehicle spin out of control. Also, this tire can be fitted on many different vehicles to improve safety such as emergency vehicles that cannot afford to have a flat tire because they need to help people. Unfortunately you cannot receive this product as a reward because they have not made enough. What you can receive from this Kickstarter are numerous collectible items. Some of the collectible you can receive are a window decal if you pledge $20 US Dollars, a poster and a decal if you pledge $40 US Dollars, and a Frisbee, poster, and decal if you pledge $80 US Dollars.